Around the state: A new bill is proposed in the Senate to make changes in funding for public schools and scholarship programs to ensure state funding follows students, the Senate agrees with a House amendment to allow school districts to be exempt from a 2023 law mandating later middle and high school starting times, Citrus County school officials say the district has been scammed of a “large sum of money,” audits show hundreds of computers and electronic devices missing from Broward schools, and 43% of Florida high school students passed alternative tests to be eligible for graduation in 2024. Here are details about those stories and others from the state’s districts, private schools, and colleges and universities:
Miami-Dade: A school district maintenance employee has been arrested and accused of having “dozens” of child sexual abuse images on his electronic devices. Police said Arthur Collot, 63, acknowledged using the “dark web” to download the illicit content. District officials did not say what school Collot worked at, but said he will be fired. WPLG.
Broward: Recent audits have identified 274 pieces of equipment, mostly computers and other electronics, missing from 40 schools and the district. The original value of the equipment was $365,000. Some of the missing computers were issued to students during the pandemic and never returned, some have probably been discarded without the proper paperwork being completed, and some have been stolen. District officials said new processes have been established to better track equipment. Sun Sentinel.
St. Lucie: A Northport K-8 School bus aide has been arrested and accused of physically abusing a 9-year-old special education student earlier this month. Port St. Lucie police said Avieser Pinillos, 43, picked up the special-needs girl, forcefully pushed her into a corner and “aggressively” shook her. He’s been charged with child abuse and has been reassigned with a recommendation that he be fired. TCPalm. WPTV.
Okaloosa: School board members are collaborating with the Tobacco Free Florida program to update the district’s policies on tobacco and vaping, with a goal of educating students about the dangers of any kind of smoking. About 10% of high school students use e-cigarettes, according to the annual Florida Youth Tobacco Survey. Northwest Florida Daily News.
Santa Rosa: The school district is now offering virtual courses for private and home-schooled students who are receiving state scholarships through the Family Empowerment Scholarship and Private Educator Provider programs. Navarre Press.
Leon: A proposed merger between Lively Technical College and Tallahassee State College is off, school Superintendent Rocky Hanna said last week. He said Lively has its own place in the community. “When we talk about true blue-collar jobs and blue-collar skills and people that work and they get their hands dirty or their hands bloody, whether it’s an auto mechanic or HVAC repairman … an electrician or a plumber or a barber — those really bare-bones skills are what Lively’s built on,” he said. Hanna added he would ask the school board to create an advisory board for Lively. WFSU.
Citrus: Local and federal law enforcement agencies are investigating the school district’s loss of a “large sum of money” to scammers. Details of the amount lost or how the scam was carried out were not disclosed. Citrus County Chronicle. District officials are working with the city of Inverness to address traffic problems around Inverness Middle School. Creating a cell phone lot like airports have is among the ideas being considered. Citrus County Chronicle.
Monroe: Applications for the school superintendent’s job are being accepted until April 1. So far, three out-of-state educators have applied to replace the retiring Theresa Axford. The pool of applicants will be narrowed to three to five finalists by April 21, with a selection expected May 6. Florida Keys Weekly.
Colleges and universities: Talks have begun to merge the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus into New College of Florida, according to state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota. No legislation has been introduced. Tampa Bay Times. The same University of South Florida scholarship available only to black and Hispanic graduate students that is under federal investigation is also offered by eight other Florida universities. Why the U.S. Education Department targeted only USF is unknown. Orlando Sentinel.
School funding changes: Changes have been proposed in the way the state funds public schools and K-12 scholarships in a bill that will get its first hearing Wednesday in the Senate. A budget would be set up for the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, and supplemental also funds would be earmarked to address enrollment changes during the school year. “Over the last few years, we have learned that for the money to truly follow the student, we need better ways to track where students are at key points throughout the school year,” said state Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. “This bill creates reasonable timeframes and mechanisms to improve both transparency and efficiency in education funding.” News Service of Florida.
School start times: Districts that contend a 2023 law requiring later start times for middle and high schools by 2026 would cause them financial and logistical hardships can be exempted from complying with the law, a Senate committee decided last week. House members passed an amendment granting the exceptions, and it was then adopted into the Senate version of the bill. Florida Politics. Tampa Bay Times.
Driving out DEI: The state’s drive to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education is spreading into K-12, state agencies and local governments during this legislative session. Anti-DEI language from the higher education law would be adopted in K-12 schools, such as renaming the Florida Educational Equity Act to the Florida Educational Equality Act and prohibiting districts from spending any money to “promote, support, or maintain” programs that violate the act. Politico Florida.
Also in the Legislature: A bill requiring schools to buy only materials using the name of Gulf of America instead of the Gulf of Mexico was approved by a House committee and is now ready for a vote on the House floor. WPLG. News Service of Florida. WFTV. Cursive writing instruction would be required for students in grades 2-5 under a bill approved last week by a House committee. Florida Politics. News Service of Florida. WKMG. WCTV. A bill aimed at reducing student truancy cleared its first committee last week. Central Florida Public Media. Limits on how much school boards and other government agencies would have to pay if they lose a lawsuit would be raised under a bill approved last week by a House committee. News Service of Florida.
About those graduation rates: While the state boasted an 89.7% high school graduation rate in 2024, 43% of those students became eligible by passing alternative tests that are generally considered less stringent than Florida’s exams on language arts and algebra. That’s up from 36.5% in 2023 and 31% three years before that. Tampa Bay Times.
Social media bill dismissed: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit over a state law that restricts access to social media sites for students under the age of 16. Those sites contend the law is a violation of their First Amendment rights, but Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled that “this court cannot reasonably infer that any particular platform is likely covered by the law without some factual allegations regarding each of those criteria.” Walker said the association representing the social media companies has until March 31 to revamp and refile the site, which it says it intends to do. News Service of Florida.
Around the nation: Organizations are cropping up all over the country, especially in areas with lots of choices, to help families navigate an evolving education system in which they can choose the education they want for their children. NextSteps.
Opinions on schools: As a teacher for 42 years, I’ve seen education standards and expectations decline, with a shift in focus from educating students to simply graduating them, and frustrations grow. But if I had my life to live over, I would choose the same career. Janet Meckstroth Alessi, Palm Beach Post. As the education freedom tidal wave washes over the country this spring, I ask policymakers to consider promoting education advisors in their legislation so that all families can access the best education for their children. Kelly Garcia, Real Clear Education. States able to balance real school choice with maintaining healthy school districts will usher in a golden age of differentiation and innovation. States that tilt too far in one direction – choice for choice’s sake without regard to the impact on public schools or mindlessly defending a status quo that is less effective and popular than ever – will harm more students than they help. Ryan Craig, Forbes. Florida’s reading and math scores have dropped to the lowest levels in two decades. The state’s response? The tests must be wrong. Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel.
